Genecis, a startup company founded by students and recent graduates of the多伦多大学士嘉堡(UTSC), is using current advancements in biotechnology, machine learning and microbial engineering to convert food waste into PHAs. A fully biodegradable form of plastic, PHAs can be used to make more sustainable toys, medical devices and 3D printer filament.
Luna Yu，创始人兼首席执行官Genecis， 状态：
“每年在全球范围内浪费价值超过1万亿美元的食物。我们能够做的是将这种浪费变成更高的价值。”
Food-based plastic
Following the collaboration with a fellow environmental science student at集线器，UTSC的企业家孵化器，Genecis’ founders开始探索其他可能由食物浪费制造的产品。
Yu comments, “We looked at different types of bio-rubbers and bio-chemicals before landing on PHAs. We felt it had the biggest market potential.”
PHAs (aka多羟基烷烃) are polymers produced by bacteria which have various benefits over other forms of bio-plastics. They can be developed into a thermoplastic, which can easily be turned into different products. Also, unlike many other forms of bio-plastics, the PHA won’t spoil the recycling process.
“许多人将生物塑料扔进回收箱，而不是堆肥，但是如果不是热塑性，它将无法重新恢复，这会破坏新的再生产品的物理特性。他们最终会崩溃。” Yu说。但是，就PHAS而言，即使意外最终会回收垃圾箱，它们也不会引起这个问题。
PHAs fully degrade in the environment within one year, and under 10 years in water. Whereas synthetic plastics can take more than a hundred years to degrade in similar environments.
Genecis探索3D打印应用程序
Genecis使用三步过程来发展其PHA。最初，食物浪费被细菌培养分解为挥发性脂肪酸。进一步将脂肪酸进一步添加到另一种细菌培养物中，专门选择在其细胞中产生PHA。最后，提取过程破裂打开细胞，然后编译并净化塑料。整个过程发生在七天的时间内，这是一种生产诸如沼气之类的替代品，最多可能需要21天。
Genecis正在通过玩具等多用途产品探索PHAS应用潜力3D printer filament, flexible packaging and medical staples, stents and sutures.
At present, Genecis’ main lab in多伦多大学Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship包含大规模的bioreactors that allows completing the three-step process. Another location in Environmental Science and Chemistry Building at UTSC is responsible for research and development in searching ways to advance their production process. Later in 2019, Genecis will commence its demonstration plant with an industry partner, and it will be able to transform three tonnes of organic waste into PHAs weekly.
在两年的旅程中，Genecis从启动比赛中赢得了超过33万美元的奖金。Yu将这种快速增长的信誉归功于Creative Destruction Lab, The Hub, and theHatchery，这是应用科学与工程学院的创业加速器。
Genecis已经培养和孤立了数百种细菌，目前在数据库中不存在。Yu说：“我们的目标是从有机废物中创造最高价值。”
“Soon we will be able to synthesize speciality chemicals and other materials from organic waste, all at a lower cost than traditional production methods using synthetic biology.”
Those distinctive chemicals can be used in cosmetics and in the health and wellbeing industry.
Determined to enhance the green potential of 3D printing, there are many projects looking to create materials that easy to recycle and safer for the planet. In 2017, the European Union launched a €2.7 million project to create汽车行业的绿色3D打印材料。其他努力，包括recycled space waste, coffee powder andorange peel开发3D打印机材料也正在进行中。
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寻找新的人才或寻找职业变革？搜索和发布3D打印作业在工程，营销，销售等方面的机会和新人才。
特色图显示了基于食物的PHA。唐·坎贝尔（Don Campbell）的照片。
